International virtuoso concert organist Donald MacKenzie returns to the Festival to play light organ pops and improvise a live soundtrack to the Buster Keaton film Sherlock Junior (1924). This our third silent movie here at The Church of St Mary and St Giles - we know from experience they're really popular, so book early. Popcorn, drinks and icecream available!
A kindly movie projectionist (Buster Keaton) longs to be a detective. When his fiancée (Kathryn McGuire) is robbed by a local thief (Ward Crane), the poor projectionist is framed for the crime. Using his amateur detective skills, the projectionist follows the thief to the train station -- only to find himself locked in a train car. Disheartened, he returns to his movie theatre, where he falls asleep and dreams that he is the great Sherlock Holmes.
Donald MacKenzie was born in Ayrshire (Scotland) in 1970. He began his professional career in 1988 when he was the organist of the Glasgow Garden Festival. In July 1992 he began his long association with the world famous Odeon Leicester Square Compton Organ by playing it for film events. In October 1993 he was engaged to play the organ for 5 weeks before each performance of the Disney film, ‘Aladdin’. Since then he has appeared regularly at film premières, special events and organ concerts. He has broadcast from the Odeon on BBC Radios 2, 3, 4 and the World Service. He has been featured on a number of television programmes and Donald has played for numerous Royal Film Performances, including several in the presence of Her Majesty the Queen.
When he is not playing for concerts Donald specialises in the art of improvised accompaniments to silent films - his first public appearance accompanying films was aged 14, for a special evening screening in Paisley Town Hall. He has now more than thirty feature films ‘under his fingers’ including many of the major classics of the silent screen, as well as many different types of short silent films. These have been acclaimed by the critics and the audience absolutely love the experience of Donald’s accompaniment to a film. His stylish accompaniments have led to numerous engagements (with many repeats) throughout the UK at venues such as The Victoria Hall - Hanley, The Usher Hall - Edinburgh, The Alexandra Palace - London, The Music Hall - Aberdeen, The Caird Hall - Dundee, Chester, Derby & Leicester Cathedrals, Saarlouis Evangelical Church, Wolverhampton Civic Hall, St Anne’s Cathedral & Clonard Monastery - Belfast, De Montfort Hall Leicester, The Musical Museum - Brentford, The Troxy Stepney and also in Europe and the USA. His overseas concert appearances have included - in Poland at the Bielsko Biala Bach Festival, in Philadelphia (USA) at the Wanamaker Store and Girard College, in Holland for the Nederland’s Orgel Federation and several times in Germany playing the Moller organ in the music hall of the world famous organ building firm of August Laukhuff. At this venue he has also played for silent film evenings as part of the Hohenloher Cultural Summer Festival. In 2008 he was honoured to become a Patron of the Lancaster Town Hall Organ Restoration Project. He was the Chair of Jury for the First Silent Film Competition held at The Babylon Cinema, Berlin in 2015.